 |
| San Marco Basilica Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016 |
Connected to
the Doge’s Palace, the first St. Mark Church was ordered by the Doge in 828 and
completed four years later. It is alleged that Venetian merchants stole the
relics of Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria and brought them to Venice.
San Marco Basilica and Doge's Palace are connected
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
San Marco basilica
was accidentally set on fire in 976 during a rebellion to depose the Doge Pietro
IV Candiano who was much hated by the locals. Venetians locked him inside his ducal palace
and set it on fire. The fire spread quickly to the basilica. The Doge and his
young son were killed and their bodies were taken to the slaughterhouse. Sane
minds prevailed and the bodies were recovered and buried with honors in the
church of Sant’Ilario. His wife
survived the attack and, the next Doge left her a small inheritance, while her
other son fled to Saxony where he conspired against the new Doge who was so
generous to his mom.
Typical Venetian square connecting the "calle"
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Eastern inspired cupolas
Photo: Wikipedia
 |
| Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016 |
The balcony
above the basilica’s portal displays the horses of San Marco since 1254. Thought
to be horses pulling an imperial quadriga
(chariot), the horses date to classical antiquity. Some believed that they once
adorned Trajan’s Arch. The horses decorated the Hippodrome of Constantinople.
Doge Enrico Dandolo sent them to Venice in 1204 as part of the loot from the Fourth
Crusade. Napoleon took them to Paris in
1797 but they were returned to Venice in 1815. The restored bronze originals
are kept in Museo Marciano inside the Basilica, while the façade is decorated
with bronze replicas.
Byron wrote,
“Below St. Mark’s still glow his steeds of brass, their gilded collars
glittering in the sun.” Today the brass replicas are corroded into a dull green
by the Venetian climate and the proximity to the salty lagoon.
A porphyry
statue of the Four Tetrarchs was looted from Constantinople in 1204, during the
fourth crusade, and was brought to Venice and set into the south-west corner of
the basilica. Diocletian had imposed a four co-emperor rule called a Tetrarchy.
One of the tetrarchs has a missing foot which was found in the 1960s in
Istanbul near the Bodrum Mosque, still located there today.
The interior
is shaped like a Greek cross, with each arm divided into three naves with a “dome
of its own as well as the main dome above the crossing.” The domes are oriental
in shape and one is bigger than the other three. The smell of incense and burned candle wax is
overpowering. To guard against fires, most churches have designated a special
place for lighting and burning candles, in small receptacles filled with sand.
San Marco gable and the winged lion
Photo: Wikipedia
The 12th
century marble floor that has undergone many restorations is tessellated in
geometric patterns and animal designs. Because the area is prone to flooding,
the floor is undulating, uneven, and treacherous to walk on. I tried to photograph the gold-mosaicked interior,
but any photography was highly discouraged and forbidden.
The eastern inspired domes
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2004
The atrium
or narthex “prepares the visitors’ eyes for the atmosphere of the gilded
interior which is quite fascinating and overwhelming in its opulence with all
the New Testament decorations of the interior and the Old Testament stories on
the ceiling.
Doge's Palace interior courtyard
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2004
The right
transept contains the platform where the newly elected Doge appeared, St. Clément’s
chapel, the Holy Host altar, the pillar where San Marco’s relics were
rediscovered in 1094, as depicted in the mosaics of the right aisle where the
entrance to the San Marco’s treasure is.
The left
transept holds the platform for Scripture readings, St. Peter’s Chapel on the
right aisle, and the Madonna Nicopeia, a Byzantine icon. St. Isidor’s chapel and Mascoli chapel are
located on the northern side.
The
presbytery is located in the eastern arm with a crypt beneath. Behind the
presbytery are located the sacristy and a 15th century church
consecrated to St. Theodore, the first patron saint of Venice. Eight red marble
columns are crowned with a high Crucifix and statues. The high altar contains
San Marco’s relics. The famous Pala d’Oro, a 10th century masterpiece
of Byzantine goldsmiths craftsmanship contains 1,300 pearls, 300 sapphires, 300
emeralds, and 400 garnets, all original, highly polished, and unfaceted gems.
The gem studded panels are encased in a gilded frame which is also encrusted
with emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and gleaming translucent enamels bound by
gold filigree. The gem embellishment was done in 1209 and 1345 by Venetians and
Sienese.
The treasury
contains gold, silver, enamel, stone carvings, rock crystals, and other objects
looted from Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade. A few objects were collected from Northern
Europe. Some art objects were melted down by Napoleon for coining at the end of
the Venetian Republic and jewels were sold.
By 1816, an inventory ordered by the Austrians revealed that 141objects were
left.
A sixth
century throne carved in alabaster, Sedia
di San Marco (St. Mark’s seat), was moved from the high altar to the
Treasury in 1534. San Marco must have been a slightly built man as the throne
could only fit a very small-framed bishop.
The interior
is so richly decorated with gold mosaics, it would take a long time to really admire
and understand such splendor and all the scenes from the Old Testament depicted
in the narthex (atrium) alone, or the mosaics in the atrium Genesis Dome, or
the Pentecost Dome, the Ascension Dome, the Baptistery, and the Zen Chapel. The
lower walls illustrate the saints, the middle walls the Apostles, and the domes
are dedicated to Christ, the Creator of everything. Unfortunately, strict guides hurry visitors
like me who wish to linger behind, to admire, to breathe in history, and perhaps
to take that solitaire and forbidden photo of such majesty.
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Venice and
particularly San Marco’s Square is not just subjected to flooding from the lagoon and rain which floods the
foundation and ground floor of all buildings, its palazzos, churches, and cathedrals
are attacked by pollution, sulphur dioxide and the salty mist of the lagoon air
which corrosively destroys the marble reliefs on facades unless they are
periodically cleaned.
Water corrosion visible on all buildings
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
But nothing
is as destructive to Venice as the flooding called aqua alta which submerges the piazza, the lowest lying area of the
lagoon for a good part of the year. The
Venetians are used to the walking tables around the square which help them
navigate the temporary lake without wading waist deep in the green lagoon water.
San Marco Square
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
The
waterfront (Molo) was the former inner harbor where ships unloaded their cargo
on the quays. Today, gondolas are tied in front of the Molo and occasional
cruise ships are towed slowly in front of San Marco’s Square, temporarily
blocking the lagoon completely with their massive and towering modernity.
Opening to the lagoon by Doge's Palace
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Facing the
island of San Giorgio is the mint (La
Zecca). Silver and gold ducats
were minted in Venice from 1284. The zecchino
was accepted as currency until the fall of the Venetian Republic. In 1870 the
mint became part of Biblioteca Marciana with a reading room in the former courtyard.
The sea entrance from the lagoon
Photo: Ileana Johnson
The sea
entrance to Venice is marked by the Columns of San Marco and San Teodoro, named
after the city’s two patron saints. St. Mark replaced St. Theodore in 828 A.D.
The columns are made of granite brought from Levant and were erected in 1172. St.
Theodore’s statue is a modern replica (the original is located in the Doge’s
Palace); the Lion of St. Mark is the original. The winged beast has agate eyes
and is said to be either a Middle Eastern hybrid or a Chinese chimera.
The lion was
brought back from Paris where Napoleon had taken it, was restored, and then placed
on its pedestal with a Bible under his paw. The writer Jan Morris is quoted as
saying that “a beast from the pagan east [was] converted from a savage basilisk
to a saint’s companion.”
The engineer
was allowed to have gambling tables between the two columns, a prime business spot
at the time. Public executions were also held between the two columns giving
rise to the superstition that it is bad luck to walk between the two columns.
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
The water is
an indescribable shade of green, difficult to imitate on canvas. During Carnevale di Venezia, which ends with
the Christian celebration of Lent, the canals and the lagoon become festooned
with extravagantly decorated gondolas and pedestrians dress in the most
elaborate costumes and masks of an era gone by, traveling back in time.
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
To celebrate
Serenissima Repubblica’s victory in
1162 against the Patriarch of Aquileia, Venetians gathered and danced in San
Marco’s Square. This annual festival became official during the
Renaissance. In 1797 Carnevale was outlawed and the wearing
of masks was forbidden. It was reintroduced in the 19th century at
private parties as an occasion to party and to display the mask wearer’s
creativity. The Italian government brought masks back in 1979 to boost the
tourist industry. A prize is awarded each year for the most beautiful mask,
some of which cost in the thousands of euros and take up to a year to complete.
The mascherari were so important in
society that they had their own guild.
The
different mask designs include:
-
bauta, covering the entire face and with a
long nose;
-
Colombina, covering only half of the upper
face, heavily decorated with crystals, feathers, gold and silver; Colombina was
the maid;
-
medico delle peste, the most bizarre looking of the
mask, often white, originally used as a way to protect the wearer from the plague;
-
servetta muta (moretta), the mute servant, a black velvet
strapless mask worn by patrician women; the mask was held in place by a button
bitten by the wearer;
-
volto (face) or larva (ghost) is a modern stark white interpretation, gilded and decorated,
covering the entire face, and worn with a tricorn and a cloak;
-
Pantalone, a half-mask dating back from the commedia dell’arte era, represents the
sad and intelligent old man with a large nose like a crow’s beak and with
slanted eyes;
-
Arlecchino, is a black half-mask made of wood
or leather with an ape-like nose and a bump on the forehead which represents
the devil’s horn; this harlequin, was a peasant, servant, or slave to
Pantalone;
-
Zanni, a half-mask in leather, with low
forehead, bulging eyebrows, and a long and curved nose at the end, signifying
the wearer low life state in life and stupidity.
Winged lion on Doge's Palace
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Areas in
Venice are divided into sestieri
(areas). The one easiest to get lost in is Mercerie,
with its maze-like alleys, a most fascinating shopping quarter that used to have
an unusual McDonald’s in a narrow and dark alley. One of the most prestigious
addresses in Venice is Campo Santo Stefano.
The Piazzetta dei Leoncini is a tiny
square next to the Basilica and is named after the marble lions used by
generations of children as riding horses.
Napoleon
gave the notion of nepotism a new meaning when his nephew, who wanted to have a
beautiful view from his palace in the Procuratie
Nuovo (the new procurators’ offices) in San Marco’s Square, supposedly
created the Giardini Ex Reali (Royal
Gardens) along the waterfront.
Passageway between tiny "calle"
Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
Every alley
in Venice is called calle, marked by
a yellow sign with pointing arrows in various directions, another way to get
lost or run around in circles. However, if you ask me, it is a way to discover
new places that otherwise I might have missed. If you ask my husband, a precise
reader of maps, it is irritating.
Window on a "calle"
Photo: Ileana Johnson
On Calle Vallaresso, there is the famous
watering hole sought by celebrities and wannabes alike, Harry’s Bar. It mixes
the Bellini, a drink made with
crushed pureed peach and sparkling prosecco. Founded by Giuseppe Cipriani in
1931 and still run by the family, Harry’s Bar also invented carpaccio, a dish made of finely sliced
raw beef fillet spritzed with oil and lemon, and named after the famous 15th
century painter Carpaccio whose favorite color was a steak-like red.
The Frezzeria is the shopping area where
cheaper masks and glass pretending to be of Murano provenance are sold. After
all, most tourists cannot tell the difference.
At the end of Frezzeria is Campo San Moise, the most exclusive but
less attractive shopping area. The Church of San Moise with its baroque façade dominates the square. On Calle delle Veste is the famous opera
house La Fenice which mysteriously
burned to the ground in 1996. It was rebuilt and reopened in 2004 with La Traviata. During construction, high
Venetian society had to suffer the indignity of going to the Tronchetto (ferry) industrial zone where
the opera company was located for the duration. On one of my trips, cast
members were giving out flyers with the times and dates of the next
performance. I went inside La Fenice
and was given a very brief peek by a staff member who happened to be in the
foyer.
TO BE
CONTINUED
One of my favorite episodes yet. Thank you for taking me on the journey.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Chriss.
ReplyDelete